WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s landmark decision Thursday striking down the District of Columbia’s gun ban will have wide-ranging legal, political and public safety consequences.

The court’s 5-4 decision in District of Columbia vs. Heller poses myriad questions for which answers are still a work in progress. Here are some of them.

Q. Does this eliminate all gun restrictions?

A. No. Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the court’s majority, stressed that the Second Amendment doesn’t guarantee an “unlimited” right to bear arms. Scalia cited as legitimate long-standing prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, as well as bans on carrying firearms into schools and government buildings.

A. Yes, although not right away. The latest federal compilation of state and local firearm laws is some 458 pages long, and it was published in 2005, so it’s not up to date. An untold number of these existing laws will be subject to challenge. This will take time and money as lawsuits are filed and ordinances are revised.

Q. Will the ruling allow those who are arrested or convicted on gun charges to challenge their cases?

A. Yes. “Virtually every defense attorney” whose client is facing “a gun count” in the indictment is obligated to seek dismissal, said Jack King, a D.C. lawyer and the director of public affairs for the National Association of Criminal Defense lawyers. The impact could be extensive because many of the gun charges are linked to drug raids, he said, adding that “very often guns go with drugs in this town.”

Fifteen percent of state inmates and 13 percent of federal inmates carried a handgun during commission of their crimes, according to Bureau of Justice Statistics figures.

Q. How about federal gun laws? Will they be affected?

A. Potentially yes, although most firearm regulations are at the state or local level.

Q. What kind of gun laws will probably survive?

A. Narrowly tailored laws may be safe, along with laws that target the most sophisticated weaponry.

Q. How will interest groups fare?

A. Pro- and anti-gun groups could both benefit. Controversy can mobilize activists, enhancing fundraising and giving volunteers a jolt of adrenaline. The fresh court, legislative and public-relations challenges empowered by the court’s ruling could guarantee years of full employment. As Alan Gottlieb of the small Second Amendment Foundation put it Thursday, “Our work has only just begun.”

The Fitzsimons Golf Course may, after 20 years of rumors, be closing at the end of this year to make way for bioscience master plans. As staff and regulars await a final date, they reminisce on the course’s nearly 100 years of history.